Fire safety of thermoplastic polyurethane based on pyromellitic dianhydride

In this paper, pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) was firstly used as fire safety agent for thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). And, the fire safety improvement of PMDA in TPU was intensively investigated by limiting oxygen index (LOI), smoke density test (SDT), cone calorimeter test, and thermogravimetric/infrared spectroscopy, respectively. It has been found that PMDA could significantly improve the ignition level, and the LOI value increase to 28.5% when 8.0 wt% PMDA was incorporated into TPU; PMDA also could effectively suppress the smoke production and heat release during the combustion process. The peak heat release rate and total smoke release of the sample with 8.0 wt% PMDA were decreased by 68% and 22% compared with pure TPU in cone calorimeter test. The thermogravimetric/infrared spectroscopy results showed that PMDA could improve the thermal stability of TPU composites at high temperature and increased the release of CO₂, H₂O, and so on. All results confirmed that PMDA would have a good prospect in reducing the fire hazard of TPU.     

Development of a pendant experiment using melt indexer for correlation with the large‐size dripping in the UL‐94 test

The dripping phenomena affect fire hazards significantly. In the UL‐94 test, the dripping has been classified into the small‐size dripping due to surface melting and the large‐size dripping originating from bulk softening. Both types of dripping result from the gravity resisted by the forces including the viscous force. Based on the mechanical mechanism, a pendant experiment to reflect the ability of polymer melt to resist the gravity and a simple model equation were developed. The pendant experimental data of 7 polymers verified the model equation, and the regressed model parameter values of activation energy were close to reported data to some extent for most polymers. Correlations between the predicted pendant mass and the dripping behavior featured by the maximum drop mass showed that the pendant mass predicted at the glass transition temperature was proportional to the maximum drop mass. For polymers of large‐size dripping, the pendant mass predicted at typical decomposition temperatures such as the onset decomposition temperature was generally proportional to the maximum drop mass. Moreover, the model equation indicated that for the large‐size dripping the product of drop mass and first dripping time should be proportional to the specimen thickness, which was verified by reported dripping data.     

A new video magnification technique using complex wavelets with Radon transform application

Magnifying micro-movements of natural videos that are undetectable by human eye has recently received considerable interests, due to its impact in numerous applications. In this paper, we use dual tree complex wavelet transform (DT-CWT), to analyze video frames in order to detect and magnify micro-movements to make them visible. We use DT-CWT, due to its excellent edge-preserving and nearly-shift invariant features. In order to detect any minor change in object’s spatial position, the paper proposes to modify the phases of the CWT coefficients decomposition of successive video frames. Furthermore, the paper applies Radon transform to track frame micro-movements without any temporal band-pass filtering. The paper starts by presenting a simple technique to design orthogonal filters that construct this CWT system. Next, it is shown that modifying the phase differences between the CWT coefficients of arbitrary frame and a reference one results in image spatial magnification. This in turn, makes these micro-movements seen and observable. Several simulation results are given, to show that the proposed technique competes very well to the existing micro-magnification approaches. In fact, as it manages to yield superior video quality in far less computation time.     

An experimental investigation on the durability of railway ballast material by magnesium sulfate soundness

In this study, the durability of railway ballast material is investigated by magnesium sulfate soundness tests. Two types of ballast aggregates, which are produced from basaltic rocks and currently used as railway ballast in such high speed railway routes in Turkey, are investigated regarding their resistance against freezing–thawing (FT) and traffic loads. Firstly, the mineralogical and physico-mechanical properties of rocks are determined. Then the degradation of investigated ballast aggregates is determined by magnesium sulfate soundness and Los Angeles abrasion (LAA) tests. The natural FT effects are simulated by magnesium sulfate soundness tests up to 40 cycles, whereas the traffic loads are represented by LAA tests up to 3000 revolutions. The ballast fouling that leads to such problems are also investigated within the scope in the present study. The degree of ballast fouling is quantified as fouling index (FI) which is determined using the crushed particles generated after LAA tests. It is concluded from laboratory studies that rock properties considered are considerably influenced by simulated FT cycles. It is also achieved from the laboratory studies that magnesium sulfate soundness and Los Angeles abrasion tests are good indicators to clarify the fragmentation mechanism of the ballast aggregate in laboratory scale. In conclusion several empirical formulas are developed to predict LAA and FI for each rock type. The proposed empirical formulas could be utilized as a pre-design tool for new railway routes in design stage provided that the investigated ballast aggregates are considered.     

Building simulation: Ten challenges

Buildings consume more than one-third of the world’s primary energy. Reducing energy use and greenhouse-gas emissions in the buildings sector through energy conservation and efficiency improvements constitutes a key strategy for achieving global energy and environmental goals. Building performance simulation has been increasingly used as a tool for designing, operating and retrofitting buildings to save energy and utility costs. However, opportunities remain for researchers, software developers, practitioners and policymakers to maximize the value of building performance simulation in the design and operation of low energy buildings and communities that leverage interdisciplinary approaches to integrate humans, buildings, and the power grid at a large scale. This paper presents ten challenges that highlight some of the most important issues in building performance simulation, covering the full building life cycle and a wide range of modeling scales. The formulation and discussion of each challenge aims to provide insights into the state-of-the-art and future research opportunities for each topic, and to inspire new questions from young researchers in this field.     

Computationally Efficient and Accurate Simulation of Cyclic Behavior for Rectangular HSS Braces

During earthquakes, braces behave in complex manners because of the asymmetric response nature of their responses in tension and compression. Hollow structural sections (HSS) have been popularly used for braces due to their sectional efficiency in compression. The purpose of this study is to accurately simulate the cyclic behavior of rectangular HSS braces using a computationally efficient numerical model. A conceptually efficient and simple physical theory model is used as a basis model. To improve the accuracy of the model, cyclic beam growth and buckling load, as well as the incidences of local buckling and brace fracture are estimated using empirical equations obtained from regression analyses using test data on rectangular HSS braces. The accuracy of the proposed model is verified by comparing actual and simulated cyclic curves of brace specimens with various slenderness and width-to-thickness ratios.     

Resistance and Resilience by Informal Traders in Bulawayo,Zimbabwe: Beyond Weapons of the Weak

Based on Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe, this paper shows that the growth of urban informality can be explained by shifts in the Zimbabwean economy. These shifts include the corporatist socialist ideology phase (1980–1989), the era of neoliberal economic policies (1990–1997) and the return to restrictionism and reign of predatory politics (1998–present). Instead of triggering economic growth, these changes led to falling industrial production and declining levels of growth, leading to unemployment. This provided a fertile ground for the growth of the informal sector, such as informal street traders (informal traders). Utilising a qualitative study of 200 informal street traders in Bulawayo, who were purposively sampled between June and December 2013, the paper argues that the presence of such traders in Bulawayo is a form of both covert and overt resistance to the local and central government. Such a response by the informal traders highlights resistance and resilience, first to the economic crisis and secondly to the local and central government, which failed to meet their employment needs. This resistance has taken surreptitious forms, such as dodging municipality police patrols or staying hidden from the regulatory regimes (weapons of the weak), but has also graduated beyond this, taking the form of open defiance of and resorting to legal means to fight the regulatory regimes (beyond weapons of the weak). In this way, the paper offers a nuanced analysis of the enduring presence of street traders in a setting where there is a vibrant and repressive regulatory regime. Further, because urban informality is an integral part of urbanisation in the Global South, there is need for strategies that progressively integrate these economic actors.     

“PACT-a-Mole”: the case against using the Program Administrator Test for energy efficiency programs

A combination of reasons is resulting in the reevaluation of cost-benefit analysis of the energy efficiency programs. In particular, the Total Resource Cost test and the Societal Cost test are being questioned as to whether they should be replaced by the Program Administrator Cost test. This paper makes the case against replacing these tests.     

Regional Feedback Stabilization for Infinite Semilinear Systems

In this paper, we treat the problem of regional optimal stabilization of a class of nonlinear systems by using a switching feedback. Firstly, we proof that the switching control exponentially stabilizes the system on a subregion including the whole domain. Secondly, under a perturbation of the control operator, we show the robustness of our result. In the last part, the stabilizing feedback is characterized by the minimization of a regional cost even under a small perturbation. We conclude by giving different applications.